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Re: swarm trap with french cleat hanging bracket.

Re: swarm trap with french cleat hanging bracket.

I set up a few of mine that that way to see how well it would work. it seems like it would be easier to level one piece that level two, the way i had planend on secuting the hives to trees.

I had planned on essentially nailing 2x4s to the bth sides of the trunck so they stick out like arms. i'd then set the trap on them and secure with 550 cord.

My only concern has to do with the stength of the wood. I plan to have semi-foundationless frames in my swarm traps. As such, they need to be pretty level in the "long" direction to avoid buggered up comb formation. With this Frenchie cleat arrangement, that puts the box sticking out from the tree lengthwise. if i don't get around to checking no the swarm for a month, they might well have that thing fillied with comb and getting heavier every day. I worry that the wood may come apart at the cleat. I don't have enough wood working experience to have that gut feeling to say "yeah that will hold."

I may forge a couple of similar cleats out of steel. i really think this is a better/easier way to hang these things than my original two armed plan.

EDIT: I just realized that this may make no sense whatsoever! I am using 10-frame deeps for swarm traps. this is why i have concerns about weight. My intention is to simply move the captured swarp to the apiary and start adding supers as needed. No need to transfer frames this way, but i run the risk of having wonky frames if i don;t have the swarm trap ratehr close to level

Re: swarm trap with french cleat hanging bracket.

Re: swarm trap with french cleat hanging bracket.

I did something similar for my top bar hives. This is the first one I made.IMAG0206.jpg.

The small piece attaches to the hive and the larger part attaches to the tree. I was going to go with 1x6, but I could only get 5/4x6 in pressure treated, and it was more expensive than 2x6. I figure with the 2x6 the screws will pull out of the tree before the wood breaks. I've modified it a bit in production, that one was made from a piece of scrap I had laying in the garage. I now make the small side piece a little bigger. Yes, I could have just used one piece of wood with two cuts and mounted the center section to the tree and then put two pieces on the hive, but this design make is harder for me to screw up. Also my hives are a bit heavy and to me this way seemed stronger. That doesn't mean that it is stronger, it just makes me feel better about it.

Here is the hive attached to the tree. IMAG0208.jpg
I tried to get the mount attached to the tree as plum as possible, but I found that if I use a little twig or branch I could shim it up or down a little. I don't plan on leaving them up for more than a few days if they have a swarm, but some are a bit far from my home. The length of hive is about 17.5 inches, so it is about the same as a lang.

Here is the finished mounted bait hive. The complex angle pulls it in tight and was a breeze to make with the chop saw. I will probably need to use a mallet to remove the hive after it has been setting for a while. IMAG0211_1.jpg

Re: swarm trap with french cleat hanging bracket.

The mount is pretty dog gone strong. I would say I could do a chin-up on it, but that would mean that I could do a chin-up. The weakest point is probably the mount to the hive itself, and I'm pretty sure I have enough hardware there to keep it in place.

Re: swarm trap with french cleat hanging bracket.

With the french cleat you may want to use a piece of string to keep it from raising, but it would take a lot of straight-line wind to get it to raise. Remember, if you push from the back the hive has to lift for it to come loose. With the double angled cleat it would take an F1 tornado to take it out. You would break the attachment to the hive before a wind gust would lift it out. I was thinking that at the end of the season I may stick a plastic bag in one and fill it with water to see if it fails.

Re: swarm trap with french cleat hanging bracket.

Originally Posted by stevedc

Yea KPeacock, i don't think i would trust this with 10 frame box either.

Well I am going to be hanging 5 10 frame deeps this weekend with it. I think you may be under estimating the strength
and the amount of weight that it will hold up. If it is made out of good wood and assembled with Titebond II or III glue and either
nailed/stapeled or screwed together one might would be amazed at how much weight it would hold up. The weak point most likely would be the attachement to the tree or post or ????